China: Public Health Genomics

Abstract

China is a multicultural country that has arisen from its 56 ethnicities, with a diverse population of over 1.3 billion people and an imbalanced economic development. The health care system in China is tending to be overall funded through urban and rural health insurance plans. Although China has invested in the basic research of genome science, public health genomics-related programs and services in China started late. Prenatal screening is offered as part of routine clinical prenatal services and is free of charge in some economically advanced cities. Newborn screening programs are mandated throughout the country but vary between provinces and territories in terms of organization and diseases screened for; most screening tests are paid by out-of-pocket expenses. Genetic tests are encouraged while there are only one accredited state laboratory and few territorial laboratories in China. Further national genomics policies are needed in China in a range of genetic issues and infrastructure of public health genomics. Careful measurement is essential to understanding the nature and scale of the task ahead.

Traditional Chinese medicine and new concepts of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine in diagnosis and treatment of suboptimal health

“…Effective intervention on SHS may be a cost-effective way for preventing chronic diseases. In addition, laboratory-based screening and development of disease-related biomarkers (genomics, proteomics, glycomics and metabolomics) is also the key promise for the early diagnosis, prevention and management in the practice of PPPM [26-28], and for improving the ecology of medical care globally [25,28-31]. …”

Demographics, diagnosis and treatment of 256 patients with tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency in mainland China: results of a retrospective, multicentre study

“…Neonatal screening for the detection of HPA has been available since the 1960s (Seymour et al 1997) and was introduced in China in 1981 (Gu et al 2008;Zheng et al 2010). National coverage of neonatal screening in China is gradually expanding and increased from 31 % in 2006 to 40 % in 2007 (Cao et al 2009).…”

Newborn Screening for Inborn Errors of Metabolism in Mainland China: 30 Years of Experience

“…In 2000, the minimal requirement for newborn screening was 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 Coverage (%) Fig. 1 The coverage of universal newborn screening in Mainland China defined by law in China that includes the screening for congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria (Zheng et al 2010). Apart from CH and PKU, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency is screened in some provinces in South China (Table 1).…”